Title IX Made All The Difference

United States’ Abby Wambach celebrates after winning the women’s soccer gold medal match against Japan at the 2012 Summer Olympics on Thursday in London. The United States won 2-1. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

In the 1972 Olympics, the U.S. team had 316 men and 84 women. The women won 10 of the team’s 33 gold medals. Forty years later in London, the team is composed of 268 women and 261 men. As of Thursday night, women had won 26 of the team’s 39 gold medals. Title IX, a federal law passed 40 years ago, has made all the difference. It mandated that federal dollars be distributed so that women would be given an equal shot to compete in sports. Since then, women have seized the opportunity and run with it. “There is no doubt in anybody’s mind this is a direct function of our having the strongest sports law in the world as far as gender equity,” said Donna Lopiano, the former president of the Women’s Sports Foundation

Question: How has your family benefitted by the passage of Title IX?